Well, it's that time of year again when the International Film Music Critics Association announces the nominees for scoring excellence in 2008, and I'm delighted that the nominees span many countries.

It was hard to narrow my own selections to a top five. The master list of scores for 2008 was frankly huge, and it's great to see the art form doing well in so many venues, with so much new talent emerging from around the world.

When I started getting interested in soundtracks 26 years ago (good God... 26 years ago), the only way to find out about composers involved literally going down to Cheapies on Yonge (by Dundas, and the smaller Wellesley location) and seeing what that chain's amazing buyer managed to snag for the month.

I remember picking up Hugo Friedhofer's Boy on a Dolphin, and putting my trust in the record label (something called Varese Sarabande, who had just rewarded me with a series of genuine Twilight Zone recordings) and believing that whoever Friedhofer was, this dude merited my attention. (It was worth the $15 bucks.)

Then came Records on Wheels (I think that was the store on Young), followed by The Record Peddler on Carlton, as well as Peter Dunn's Vinyl Museum (at magical Yonge and Dundas, again) for an incredible mass of used/deleted/unwanted LPs.

(Those who remember Dunn's shop, with its preposterous mobile - '8-track tapes are equal if not better than CDs' - and persistent born-again text on the album sleeves should do a Google search and check out some of the scant posts, although this one is a real delight. "Plays fine but check condition." Oh, the memories. It's Dunn's blessed fault I walked out with 20 LPs every time.)

It was maybe around this time when I discovered Soundtrack! magzine, Randall Larson's CinemaScore, John Williams' From Silents to Satellites (later to emerge as Music from The Movies), Film Score Monthly, as well as Page Cook's soundtrack column in Films in Review (damn, I miss that little magazine). They were all invaluable for listing albums that sometimes received a commercial release (plus the odd Poo LP).

The scope of these publications was either North American or more broadly international, and collectively they provided an important tally of who scored what, and why a score merited our attention. The mags also satisfied the nutty needs of collectors and fans, and perhaps composers who also found venues where their work was discussed with great sincerity, emotion, and maybe some arrogance.

I've no idea what it's like to discover people writing about and arguing about one's own music in print and online, but it has to include surprise, some delight, and maybe a bit of satisfaction in knowing the career you, the composer, chose, is incredibly cool and vital to the success of several massively popular forms of art and popular entertainment.

Your work is creative and fun, and when nominees for the IFMCA Awards are announced, it isn't one's age or yearly output or a film's grosses that matter, but the quality of what you've written among peers, veterans, and newcomers.

This year's nominees are pretty diverse:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE INTERNATIONAL FILM MUSIC CRITICS ASSOCIATION (IFMCA) ANNOUNCES ITS 2008 NOMINEES FOR SCORING EXCELLENCE

THOMAS NEWMAN’S WALL*E LEADS THE FIELD WITH 4 NOMINATIONS

JANUARY 16, 2009. WALL*E, the Pixar movie about a lone robot left on Earth, garnered the most nominations for the fifth annual International Film Music Critics Association Awards for Excellence. The animated film was nominated for four awards: Film Score of the Year, Best Score for an Animated Film, Best Film Composition (for “Define Dancing”) and Composer of the Year for Thomas Newman (who also scored REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and TOWELHEAD in 2008).

Also nominated for Film Score of the Year are the acclaimed THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON by Alexandre Desplat; the highest grossing movie of the year, THE DARK KNIGHT by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer; the Abu Ghraib prison documentary STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE by Danny Elfman and the first score by veteran film composer John Williams in three years, INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

Danny Elfman received the most individual nominations this year with seven: Composer of the Year; Film Score of the Year and Best Documentary Score for STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE; Best Drama Score for MILK; Best Action/Adventure Score and Best Individual Cue for WANTED (“Success Montage”); and Best Fantasy/Science Fiction Score for HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY.

In the category of Breakout Composer, the Association took notice of scores by up-and-coming composers Paul Cantelon (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL and W.), Andrew Lockington (JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH and CITY OF EMBER), Nico Muhly (THE READER), Max Richter (WALTZ WITH BASHIR) and Atli Örvarsson (BABYLON A.D. and VANTAGE POINT).

The nominations by the IMFCA, which has members from around the world, reflect the Association’s global perspective. International score nominees include the latest Hayao Miyazaki animated film GAKE NO UE NO PONYO (PONYO ON THE CLIFF) by Joe Hisaishi, the comedy BIENVENUE CHEZ LES CH’TIS by Philippe Rombi, and the made-for-television movie PANE E LIBERTÀ by Ennio Morricone.

The International Film Music Critics will announce the winners of their 5th Annual Awards on February 18, 2009.

FILM CATEGORIES:

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music by Alexandre Desplat• The Dark Knight, music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, music by John Williams• Standard Operating Procedure, music by Danny Elfman• Wall*E, music by Thomas Newman

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR• Alexandre Desplat• Danny Elfman• James Newton Howard• Thomas Newman• John Powell

BREAKOUT COMPOSER OF THE YEAR• Paul Cantelon, The Other Boleyn Girl and W.• Andrew Lockington, Journey to the Center of the Earth and City of Ember• Nico Muhly, The Reader• Max Richter, Waltz with Bashir• Atli Örvarsson, Babylon A.D. and Vantage Point

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, music by James Horner• Che, music by Alberto Iglesias• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music by Alexandre Desplat• Defiance, music by James Newton Howard• Milk, music by Danny Elfman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM• Bienvenue Chez Les Ch’tis, music by Philippe Rombi• Burn After Reading, music by Carter Burwell• Fool’s Gold, music by George Fenton• Leatherheads, music by Randy Newman• Tropic Thunder, music by Theodore Shapiro

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE FILM• The Dark Knight, music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer• Hancock, music by John Powell• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, music by John Williams• Speed Racer, music by Michael Giacchino• Wanted, music by Danny Elfman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION FILM• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, music by Harry Gregson-Williams• City of Ember, music by Andrew Lockington• Hellboy II: The Golden Army, music by Danny Elfman• Inkheart, music by Javier Navarrete• The Spiderwick Chronicles, music by James Horner

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A HORROR/THRILLER FILM• The Happening, music by James Newton Howard• Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In), music by Johan Söderqvist• Mirrors, music by Javier Navarrete• Twilight, music by Carter Burwell• Valkyrie, music by John Ottman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE• Bolt, music by John Powell• Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff), music by Joe Hisaishi• Horton Hears a Who!, music by John Powell• Wall*E, music by Thomas Newman• Waltz with Bashir, music by Max Richter

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY FEATURE• The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos, music by The Cinematic Orchestra• Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father, music by Kurt Kuenne• Night, music by Cezary Skubiszewski• Standard Operating Procedure, music by Danny Elfman• Tabarly, music by Yann Tiersen

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR• Cloverfield: “Roar! Overture,” music by Michael Giacchino• The Happening: “Be With You,” music by James Newton Howard• Valkyrie: “They’ll Remember You,” music by John Ottman and Lior Rosner• Wall*E: “Define Dancing,” music by Thomas Newman and Peter Gabriel• Wanted: “Success Montage,” music by Danny Elfman

OTHER CATEGORIES:

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION• Battlestar Galactica (Season 4), music by Bear McCreary• John Adams, music by Robert Lane and Joseph Vitarelli• Merlin, music by Robert Lane• Lost (Season 4), music by Michael Giacchino• Pane e Libertà, music by Ennio Morricone

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA• Afrika, music by Wataru Hokoyama• Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, music by Knut Avenstroup Haugen• Gears of War 2, music by Steve Jablonsky• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, music by Chris Tilton• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, music by Mark Griskey

BEST NEW RELEASE/RE-RELEASE OF AN EXISTING SCORE• Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, music by Jerry Goldsmith; produced by Douglass Fake (Intrada)• Body Double, music by Pino Donaggio; produced by Douglass Fake (Intrada)• The Boys from Brazil, music by Jerry Goldsmith; produced by Douglass Fake (Intrada)• Heavy Metal, music by Elmer Bernstein; produced by Lukas Kendall (Film Score Monthly)• The Matrix: The Deluxe Edition, music by Don Davis; produced by Don Davis and Robert Townson (Varèse Sarabande)

BEST RE-RECORDING OF AN EXISTING SCORE• El Cid, music by Miklós Rózsa; conducted by Nic Raine, produced by James Fitzpatrick (Tadlow)• The Kentuckian/Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, music by Bernard Herrmann; conducted William Stromberg; produced by Anna Bonn, John Morgan and William Stromberg (Tribute Film Classics)• Odna (Alone), music by Dmitri Shostakovich; conducted by Mark Fitzgerald, produced by Hans-Bernhard Bätzing (Naxos)• She, music by Max Steiner; conducted William Stromberg; produced by Anna Bonn, John Morgan and William Stromberg (Tribute Film Classics)• An Unfinished Life – Piano Sketches, music by Christopher Young; performed by Dave Guili, produced by Flavio Motalla and Christopher Young (BSX)

BEST COMPILATION ALBUM OR BOX SET• Gangs of New York/The Journey of Natty Gann/The Scarlet Letter, music by Elmer Bernstein; produced by Robert Townson (Varèse Sarabande)• Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection, music by John Williams; produced by Laurent Bouzereau (Concord)• Le Cinéma de Georges Delerue, music by Georges Delerue; produced by Stéphane Lerouge (Universal Music France)• MGM Soundtrack Treasury, various composers; produced by Lukas Kendall (Film Score Monthly)• Superman: The Music, various composers; produced by Mike Matessino and Lukas Kendall (Film Score Monthly)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR• Film Score Monthly• Intrada• La-La Land• MovieScore Media• Varèse Sarabande

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music.

The IFMCA was originally formed in the late 1990s as the now-defunct “Film Music Critics Jury” by editor and journalist Mikael Carlsson, a regular contributor to filmmusicradio.com and filmmusicmag.com, and the owner of the Swedish independent film music label MovieScore Media.

Since its inception, the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 50 members from countries as diverse as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Previous IFMCA Score of the Year Awards have been awarded to Dario Marianelli’s ATONEMENT in 2007, James Newton Howard’s LADY IN THE WATER in 2006, John Williams’ MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA in 2005 and Michael Giacchino’s THE INCREDIBLES in 2004.

For more information about the International Film Music Critics Association, its members and the list of past awards, please visit http://www.filmmusiccritics.org or contact press@filmmusiccritics.org.